Lawrence Douglas Wilder (1931-) was the first African American in the United States to be
elected governor of a state. A veteran of the Korean War, he was a
lawyer by profession, and he was the first black member of the
Senate of Virginia in the twentieth century. In 1985 he was
elected lieutenant governor, the first African American elected to
statewide office in Virginia. Four years later he was elected
governor of Virginia. Wilder's inauguration as governor in
January 1990 was doubly notable in that the first woman to win
election to statewide office, Mary Sue Terry, was sworn in on the
same day as attorney general of Virginia. For a brief time in 1991
Wilder was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president
of the United States. His prominence in national politics, based
on his achievements in Virginia politics, illustrated how much had
changed in Virginia and in the nation since the days when African
Americans were often prevented from voting or taking part in
public life.